Financial Association News, October 10th (Reporter Xu Hao) General Motors, which once promoted the Ultium battery platform solution in a high-profile manner, is now being abandoned, redirecting its electrification transformation path towards multiple chemistries, and various new strategies. In this context, the anticipated cooperation between General Motors and Contemporary Amperex Technology has become a focus of industry attention.

"General Motors will use lithium iron phosphate battery technology to significantly reduce the cost of electric vehicles." At General Motors' annual investor conference on October 9th local time, General Motors Vice President of Battery and Kurt Kelty announced this decision. According to Kelty, this measure is expected to reduce the cost of electric vehicles by as much as $6,000. General Motors plans to average the cost of batteries from 2023 to 2024 to $60 per kilowatt-hour, and expects a further $30 reduction in 2025 by using lithium iron phosphate batteries.

"Kelty mentioned General Motors' future battery strategy, summarizing that the future will adopt a strategy of multiple formulations, multiple forms, and multiple procurement." On October 10th, a relevant person from General Motors China told Financial Association reporters.

General Motors' once again adjustment of the battery strategy is undoubtedly to enhance its profitability and market competitiveness in electric vehicles, in response to the intense competition in the industry. The financial report shows that General Motors' revenue in the second quarter was $47.97 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%; net income attributable to shareholders was $2.93 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.3%. Despite the strong financial performance, its electric vehicle business is still in a loss-making state. General Motors delivered 38,355 electric vehicles in the first half of the year, expecting that only by the fourth quarter reaching a production volume of 0.2 million vehicles, its electric vehicles can achieve profitability based on production or marginal contributions.

At the current stage, General Motors mainly adopts nickel-cobalt-manganese materials as the cathode in the ternary lithium batteries on its Ultium platform. Compared to lithium iron phosphate batteries, the cost is higher, which to a certain extent limits the market competitiveness of electric vehicles. As a local competitor of General Motors, Tesla and Ford are already using lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Currently, General Motors has successfully integrated lithium iron phosphate batteries into large electric vehicle chassis typically equipped with square-shaped Ultium NCM batteries, still achieving a range of over 350 miles (about 563.27 kilometers). In addition, General Motors is also exploring the application of new prismatic batteries and high-end cylindrical batteries. Kelty stated that General Motors will reduce the number of modules in the battery pack by 75% using new prismatic batteries, thus reducing production costs and improving production efficiency; while high-end cylindrical batteries will be used in "performance" vehicles.

In the United States, in order to better compete with Chinese battery manufacturers, General Motors plans to establish a battery research center at its technical center in Warren, Michigan in 2027 and will continue to work with partners LG to develop batteries, as well as cooperate with Samsung SDI to build a new $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery factory in Indiana.

In the Chinese market, the joint venture brand SAIC-GM has already cooperated with Contemporary Amperex Technology in the development of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries. On September 25, SAIC-GM officially announced on its official WeChat account that they are jointly launching the industry's first 6C ultra-fast charging lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery with Contemporary Amperex Technology, which can increase the range by over 200 kilometers with a 5-minute charge.

According to informed sources, SAIC-GM and Contemporary Amperex Technology are preparing for mass production of the battery and plan to install it in a pure electric vehicle model next year. Contemporary Amperex Technology will be responsible for the production of the battery cells, while the remaining production and assembly processes of the battery pack will be completed by SAIC-GM's Ultium Super Factory.

Due to its advantages in thermal stability and price, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries have been favored by many global auto manufacturers. In the Chinese market, data from the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance shows that in the first 8 months of this year, the installed capacity of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries reached 206.2 GWh, accounting for over 70% of the total installed capacity. Recently, Lian Yubo, Chief Scientist of BYD, stated in a public forum that due to factors such as cost and material controllability, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries will not be eliminated in the next 15-20 years.